Democrats: Rauner needs to introduce cost-saving bills

Wednesday

May 9, 2018 at 8:36 PM

SPRINGFIELD — Turning the tables somewhat on Gov. Bruce Rauner, some Senate Democrats said Wednesday that it is the governor who is stalling action on a new state budget.

The Democrats said the Rauner administration has never submitted legislation that contained his proposals for saving the state about $1.3 billion in next year’s state budget. That includes calls for cutting state worker health insurance benefits and beginning to shift downstate teacher pension costs to local districts and away from the state.

“If we’re not going to do those things, what we want to hear is, 'What is the proposal to do something different so that we can balance the budget and have a surplus?'” Zigmund said.

But Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, one of the committee chairmen, said no legislation has ever been introduced to change insurance benefits or shift pension costs. He said he is particularly concerned that shifting pension costs to school districts will unravel the benefits of the school funding reform bill that was meant to direct more state money to the neediest districts.

“We can’t pass legislation of this magnitude that undoes gains (from funding reform),” Manar said. “The sooner we can see that proposal, the quicker the resolution to this issue.”

Zigmund said the administration wants to have a serious discussion with lawmakers about the pension cost-shift idea. He said there’s been a history in the House of the chamber voting on Rauner’s proposals “so that they can be voted down and then dismissed as nobody wants it.”

After the hearing, Manar remained adamant that Rauner should produce a bill that lawmakers can debate.

“I’m not going to play what-ifs with Bruce Rauner,” he said. “It’s very difficult if not impossible for myself and others to look at a verbal proposal as a serious proposal.”

On Tuesday, Rauner attended a meeting with the legislative leaders and again suggested the Democrats are in no hurry to pass a budget before the May 31 adjournment deadline. He and the Republican leaders criticized Democrats for not adopting a formal revenue estimate to be used as a basis for crafting a budget.

Rauner spokeswoman Rachel Bold said Wednesday the administration is “not looking for political theater. We’re working toward providing the citizens of this state with a balanced, full-year budget with no tax increase.”

Several school superintendents testified against the pension cost shift, including Jennifer Gill of Springfield’s District 186. Gill said the district had to cut almost $5 million from its budget when the state was prorating school aid money. The new funding formula gave the district an increase of $1.148 million, she said. That still leaves the district about $57 million short of the money the state has determined the district needs to meet its adequacy target.

Shifting pension costs will make things worse, she said.

“In one year (the shift) would be $2.3 million and over the course of four years it would be close to $10 million, and that would be an annual cost going forward,” she said. “The pension shift would be a financial disaster for us. It would be impossible to cut our way out of this deficit.”

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